Pressure washers - what's the point?
Discussion
Pothole said:
Isn't this just an apocryphal story, much like the tyre mould release compound malarkey? Anyone you actually know and trust ever had this issue? Almost all bike dealers jetwash used stock when it comes in....I don't know anyone who has ever had a dry bearing for this reason on any bike.
No, it isn't. Happened in my force at the time I was in the job.paintman said:
Pothole said:
Isn't this just an apocryphal story, much like the tyre mould release compound malarkey? Anyone you actually know and trust ever had this issue? Almost all bike dealers jetwash used stock when it comes in....I don't know anyone who has ever had a dry bearing for this reason on any bike.
No, it isn't. Happened in my force at the time I was in the job."Talk to any valet/detailer & ask them why they use all sorts of different foams/chemicals etc BEFORE they use a pressure washer on a car. You need something to break that bond and lift the dirt away from the surface in the first place; a high-pressure water jet is not the most paint-friendly way of doing that".
We used to run a hand car wash and would never use tfr on red or black cars, it rips off wax and gloss from paint. Red or black cars often had flat spots where tfr landed.
Tfr is evil stuff used incorrectly and should be placed on lower part of car not on any trims etc.
If the car is detailed the dirt will not stick, no need for tfr.
For me I would rinse car with jet wash and if needed spray tfr so it's like a snow foam.
We used to run a hand car wash and would never use tfr on red or black cars, it rips off wax and gloss from paint. Red or black cars often had flat spots where tfr landed.
Tfr is evil stuff used incorrectly and should be placed on lower part of car not on any trims etc.
If the car is detailed the dirt will not stick, no need for tfr.
For me I would rinse car with jet wash and if needed spray tfr so it's like a snow foam.
If you snow foam then pressure wash a car then leave it to dry, it looks cack. You have to "wash it again" with a wash mitt and two buckets.
Might seem mad but as someone who does both depending on how dirty the car is, the thought of a sponge or brush scrubbing off thick dirt without any rinsing is the equivalent of running fingernails down a blackboard to many. Total paint death.
Snow foam loosens the dirt, pressure washing blasts off the big, scratchy stuff.
Might seem mad but as someone who does both depending on how dirty the car is, the thought of a sponge or brush scrubbing off thick dirt without any rinsing is the equivalent of running fingernails down a blackboard to many. Total paint death.
Snow foam loosens the dirt, pressure washing blasts off the big, scratchy stuff.
Pothole said:
paintman said:
Pothole said:
Isn't this just an apocryphal story, much like the tyre mould release compound malarkey? Anyone you actually know and trust ever had this issue? Almost all bike dealers jetwash used stock when it comes in....I don't know anyone who has ever had a dry bearing for this reason on any bike.
No, it isn't. Happened in my force at the time I was in the job.As the TU is also at FHQ we also got to know the mechanics - useful if we needed one of the cars looking at. (I always went out of my way to maintain good relations with the staff office, the canteen staff & the TU
) One of them I still see as he has just retired from the civvie garage where I've had our own cars - and my own bike - MoT'd for some years. I've known him for over 35years.
Boobonman said:
A friend has a massive diesel powered pressure washer at his farm. Back from Le Mans and trying to get the last bit of sticker residue and sick off the eunos and I managed to blast off most of the drivers side rear quarter. That'll be filler then...
Many many moons ago i worked in a marina and borrowed the industrial high pressure washer to clean my old van.First go and a big stripe of paint want removed revealing my blue van used to be yellow
bugger
If you saw a astravan in the 90s with yellow and blue stripes
It was me
skyrover said:
jmorgan said:
I expect muddy off road car users etc will jump on this now.
We have a diesel powered one in work for cleaning high sided vans. Not used any more but did a superb job. The detergent we used for it would take wax off the car and not leave the paint work very nice. As a few colleagues found out one day.....
. The nozzle is adjustable ... I use a fine spray to wash the bodywork! It also saves a lot of money compared to using the jetwash at my local petrol station ... and no queues!Some odd comments in here. Seems like people expect to give the car a blast and that is it, perfectly clean. As if! But they so get rid of a lot of the dirt before washing so there is less risk of swirl marks.
And as for taking a long time set up; plug it in and attach the hose, that is all. Hardly a major job.
And as for taking a long time set up; plug it in and attach the hose, that is all. Hardly a major job.
Vladimir said:
If you snow foam then pressure wash a car then leave it to dry, it looks cack. You have to "wash it again" with a wash mitt and two buckets.
hmm don't agree. When I've had my car clean and a good coat or three of wax the dirt just didn't stick, so I would snowfoam it, rinse off and dry with a towel. job done. You might get water coming out of fixing - e.g. the mirror housing, I just used to let it do so, wipe with the towel or use a quicker detailer to tidy it up.It's obvious there's a distinct separation on this thread, those supporting the use of pressure washing cars are alot more knowledgeable about how to use them effectively as 'part' of the many stages of washing a car without inflicting scratches and swirls in the paint.
The rest who generally say they're 'useless' do not seem so well informed and some of the nonsense I have read in this thread is hilarious.
Listen to the guys who know what they are talking about. Pressure washers are used by every top detailing company for a reason, they work! Especially for cleaning wheels, arches, underbody, door shuts, engines etc. but they work because they are used properly in various stages of cleaning a car and used in conjunction with effective high quality chemicals like snowfoam, TFR, Citrus washes, Ironx, tar remover etc etc.
IMHO The most basic equipment that anyone requires to 'clean' a car effectively without inflicting unnecessary swirls in the paint is:
1. Quality shampoo (no not Fairy Liquid)
2. 2 Lambswool washmitts or similar with long fibres for lifting dirt (not a sponge, that just drags the grit across the paintwork causing swirls)
3. Two buckets with grit guards (one for soaping the washmitt, one for rinsing the dirt laden mitt)
4. Pressure washer
5. A pre-cleaning product (citrus wash, TFR, snowfoam)
6. Quality drying towel
Without the above, you're damaging your paint, slowly inflicting swirl after swirl that will leave your paint finish dull and marked.
And anyone taking your car to a 'hand-wash' place are mental, a quick rinse, blast with snow foam and then hard scrub with a sponge without rinsing off the dirt laden foam??... no no no !!!!
The rest who generally say they're 'useless' do not seem so well informed and some of the nonsense I have read in this thread is hilarious.
Listen to the guys who know what they are talking about. Pressure washers are used by every top detailing company for a reason, they work! Especially for cleaning wheels, arches, underbody, door shuts, engines etc. but they work because they are used properly in various stages of cleaning a car and used in conjunction with effective high quality chemicals like snowfoam, TFR, Citrus washes, Ironx, tar remover etc etc.
IMHO The most basic equipment that anyone requires to 'clean' a car effectively without inflicting unnecessary swirls in the paint is:
1. Quality shampoo (no not Fairy Liquid)
2. 2 Lambswool washmitts or similar with long fibres for lifting dirt (not a sponge, that just drags the grit across the paintwork causing swirls)
3. Two buckets with grit guards (one for soaping the washmitt, one for rinsing the dirt laden mitt)
4. Pressure washer
5. A pre-cleaning product (citrus wash, TFR, snowfoam)
6. Quality drying towel
Without the above, you're damaging your paint, slowly inflicting swirl after swirl that will leave your paint finish dull and marked.
And anyone taking your car to a 'hand-wash' place are mental, a quick rinse, blast with snow foam and then hard scrub with a sponge without rinsing off the dirt laden foam??... no no no !!!!
I quite like using mine to wash the car, I make a mix of car shampoo and pressure washer cleaner into a squirty bottle, go round the car with that first then rinse with pressure washer. Wash the car, then rinse off the soap with the pressure washer again, then give it a wipe with a water blade thing.
It is a bit of a hassle so I only tend to do it when I want to really clean the car.
It is a bit of a hassle so I only tend to do it when I want to really clean the car.
Craigwww said:
It's obvious there's a distinct separation on this thread, those supporting the........
This post is just about the only one that shows a basic understanding of how to clean a car without f
king it up. A bizzare thread full of inane drivel spouted by people who haven't got a clue what they're talking about.
And the guy who thinks a pressure washer f
ked his wheels and Landrover badge. That'll be the brick acid they used on your car.Leptons said:
And the guy who thinks a pressure washer fked his wheels and Landrover badge. That'll be the brick acid they used on your car.
You could have a point there. All the cars seem to come out of the establishment remarkably clean with suspiciously little effort from the guys "washing" them, that's why I now clean it myself.ked his wheels and Landrover badge. That'll be the brick acid they used on your car.Why I may not be as "Rain Man" as some of you car washing experts, I find the key to a good result is not to let the car get too dirty in the first place. 2 buckets of clean, soapy water, sponge and a hose pipe is all you need. My other secret weapon is a good chamois leather and a tin of Autoglym alloy wheel sealer!
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